The climate reality pledge

32 comments on “The climate reality pledge ”

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1. Private Baldrick 1

   9 May 2013 at 12:22 pm

   Can I sign on behalf of my Turnip ?
   • ghostrider888 1.1

     9 May 2013 at 1:34 pm

     this ships not for turning
     • Colonial Viper 1.1.1

       9 May 2013 at 5:55 pm

       not for turniping

       [lprent: Bloody baldricks. They’re spreading like vipers. 😈 ]
2. Tom Bennion 2

   9 May 2013 at 1:04 pm

   Good idea. Read it, signed it, doing it.
3. Bill 3

   9 May 2013 at 1:13 pm

   Oh dear. What is it with the constant appeal to so-called leaders and/or governments to do something? There is no possible social democratic or market solution – so forget about appeals to government and such like.

   Carbon emmissions accumulate. So, stop doing those things that add to the cumulative total of atmospheric CO2 unless you can offer some very serious justification for whatever it is you are doing. And stop enabling others to add to the cumulative total of atmospheric and oceanic CO2 through your ongoing participation in carbon hungry systems of production/distribution and the activities that support those systems.

   Alternatively, be a cop out, pull out the ‘too hard’ basket and keep on appealing to governments and world leaders to do something.
   • Macro 3.1

     9 May 2013 at 2:04 pm

     Governments can help people to help themselves and the planet Bill. They can help people to make sensible choices to reduce their carbon emissions by cutting subsidies on fossil fuels, taxing fossil fuels, and providing alternative solutions. But they find this difficult to do because they are caught up in the assumption that if they were to do that the consequences would be dire – eg the dire effects Tony Abbott predicted that would happen to the Aussie economy with their Carbon tax. Gillard bit the bullet and did something.
     • Bill 3.1.1

       9 May 2013 at 3:49 pm

       I disagree with your analysis or hopefulness there macro. You’re forgetting that almost all of the carbon emmissions we are concerned about are as a result of economic activity. And you’re overlooking the fact that the role of democratic governments is to ensure that the market economy ‘ticks along’. And you’re ignoring the consequences of a year on year massive drop in carbon emmissions: the market economy tanks. (the only historical precedent for an economy reducing carbon emmissions at more than 5% p.a. year on year was in the instance of the collapsed Soviet economy – and we have to get oour carbon from energy use reduced by 40% by the tail end of 2015 to be on track for a mere 50/50 chance of ducking below 2 degrees C global surface warming)
       • Macro 3.1.1.1

         9 May 2013 at 5:28 pm

         Yes I totally agree that the consequences of cold turkey on fossil fuels is a world wide depression of horrific proportions. The longer humanity takes to bite the bullet, the worse the consequences are going to be.
         Bill Mc Kibben will be in NZ next month:

         Auckland – Tuesday, 11 June, Epsom Girls Grammar School Hall, 7-8.30pm
         Dunedin – Wednesday, 12 June, venue tbc
         Wellington – Thursday, 13 June, The Embassy Theatre, 7-8.30pm

         He argues:
         “The maths are simple: we can burn less than 565 more gigatons of carbon dioxide and stay below 2°C of warming — anything more than that risks catastrophe for life on earth. The problem? Fossil fuel companies have 2,795 gigatons in their reserves, five times the safe amount. And they’re planning to burn it all — unless we do the maths to change our future.”

         I don’t hold out much hope that humanity can do this quite frankly – I would like to think that we can but as individuals humans tend to act in self interest first and to heck with the consequences for anyone else – that is why I think our only chance as a species as we know it is to empower governments to help us to control our excesses.
         • Colonial Viper 3.1.1.1.1

           9 May 2013 at 5:59 pm

           Yes I totally agree that the consequences of cold turkey on fossil fuels is a world wide depression of horrific proportions.

           Uh, actually a 3% to 4% reduction in the use of fossil fuels will unleash a world wide depression of horrific proportions, and likely some minor (or major wars) as well as massive social unrest. And that’s just the first week.

           If we were to go “cold turkey” on fossil fuels, that would throw our civilisation back 400 years.
           • Macro 3.1.1.1.1.1

             10 May 2013 at 11:14 am

             I quite agree here as well! The situation that the modern economics of continuous consumption has brought us too is mind numbing once you look past the here and now – which not many are willing to do. It is quite clear that humanity cannot continue on this path of consumption for the economies sake, and the benefit of the super rich. We have had the “best of times” and we and our children and grand children, are now going to pay for it in one way or another.
         • prism 3.1.1.1.2

           9 May 2013 at 6:12 pm

           I think you forget our human difficulty in changing course in our cultures. We set up systems that seem helpful, like government, then they grow into monsters and swagger round doing less and less for the people that pay them the least, which is most of us.
       • Colonial Viper 3.1.1.2

         9 May 2013 at 6:07 pm

         For the record, I agree with Bill. If you’re not serious about restructuring our political economy and our energy driven expectations of daily life, you’re not serious about climate change.

         Otherwise it’s simply about trying to fuel our current extravagance laden lifestyles with renewables. Which is (and was) never going to work.
         • Macro 3.1.1.2.1

           10 May 2013 at 12:08 pm

           I wish people would call it for what it is! It’s Global Warming caused in the main part by humans! The change in climate is only a tiny fraction of the outcomes. The oceans soak up the majority of the heat being retained by the Earth. What will be the consequences of that in the future is anyone’s guess.

           New Zealand is a special case. In our case, renewables can be made to work, if we are innovative enough. There is an extensive examination of this – this is the final post in a series of 16 posts here:
           http://hot-topic.co.nz/grand-final-sustainable-energy-nz-16-counting-up-the-dollars-and-sense/
4. andyS 4

   9 May 2013 at 3:10 pm

   This thing is a brain child of Al Gore

   Nuff said
   • RJLC 4.1

     9 May 2013 at 9:41 pm

     and Al Gore is fat too.
5. Ugly Truth 5

   9 May 2013 at 3:22 pm

   “I demand action from our leaders”

   You don’t get to make demands of your leaders.
6. The Al1en 6

   9 May 2013 at 3:28 pm

   I know how to save the world.

   Bring me Sir Richard Branson, Sir Mike Myers and Rickie Gervais 😆 and I’ll show you how 😉
   • ghostrider888 6.1

     9 May 2013 at 3:33 pm

     wheelie?
     • The Al1en 6.1.1

       9 May 2013 at 3:35 pm

       Yep, dead cert.

       But don’t tell any one, it’s a secret 😉
       • ghostrider888 6.1.1.1

         9 May 2013 at 3:46 pm

         they spin my wheels more than that “chatty man”; how halls fill to watch Alan Carr is Beyond Belief.(and beyond me).
         • The Al1en 6.1.1.1.1

           9 May 2013 at 4:03 pm

           It all came to me last night, just like that. A brief moment of clarity and bang, insight.

           I hope it’s not like that Travolta film where he thinks he’s seen a ufo, but turns out, sadly he hasn’t.
           • ghostrider888 6.1.1.1.1.1

             9 May 2013 at 4:06 pm

             Phenomenally taking up thread space.
7. Steve Wrathall 7

   9 May 2013 at 5:48 pm

   Where’s the red button to blow up school kids?
   • One Anonymous Knucklehead 7.1

     9 May 2013 at 5:51 pm

     You have kids haven’t you Steve?

     Going to be grandchildren coming along before you know it. Food for thought, eh.
   • prism 7.2

     9 May 2013 at 6:15 pm

     What about blowing up condoms a la Porterhouse Blues. Condoms the tool of the future, to ensure that we have a future.
     • Colonial Viper 7.2.1

       9 May 2013 at 6:23 pm

       Compared to 1960, birth rates all through the western world and even countries like India and China have collapsed. Most OECD countries are holding around a replacement level of births and many are not.

       The challenge is Africa.
       • prism 7.2.1.1

         9 May 2013 at 8:52 pm

         They’ve got AIDS to contend with, amongst other things.
8. andyS 8

   9 May 2013 at 6:27 pm

   Come on guys you can do better than these cheesy Al Gore stunts
   • One Anonymous Knucklehead 8.1

     9 May 2013 at 6:35 pm

     🙄
9. Jenny 9

   10 May 2013 at 5:46 am

   I pledge to make the self centered opportunists who call themselves politicians in this country face up to the issue of climate change.

   I pledge to do my best to make climate change an election issue in 2014.

   I pledge that al least one or two politicians (at least) will have the decency to fight for a mandate to act against climate change.

   I pledge to let no political meeting or broadcast go past, without politicians being forced to answer questions on what they will do about cllimate change so that voters have a clear choice.
   • andyS 9.1

     10 May 2013 at 9:20 am

     I pledge to ask the Greens and Labour leaders how they intend to reduce power prices via NZ Power and at the same time address climate change by putting up the price of power via ETS and other mechanisms
10. infused 10

    10 May 2013 at 10:11 am

    Need population controls, but that ain’t ever going to happen. Need China to step up, that ain’t ever going to happen.

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